Two weeks ago, BioWare interview with World Designer in Star Wars the old Republic, Allison Berryman to do a behind the scenes look of this new even. 594d2a
Events are a cornerstone of repeatable content for Star Wars: The SWTOR team?
Yes, hi! You may recognize me from long, long ago around launch, when I was a cool stuff in the game.
Recently we launched our seasonal event?
There were plenty of reasons to make a new seasonal event, but one of the main motivators for me was to make the galaxy feel more lived-in. Since it only comes around once a year, the Feast is definitely stories is a key ingredient to a galaxy that feels truly alive.
It also enables us to build Missions that let us (as Designers) play around with gives players more to do.
Why the Hutts? What was appealing about bringing them front and center for this event?
When we were in the initial brainstorming phase for the new event, we knew it was going to happen in the fall and that it would focus on themes that we commonly associate with that season. Feasting was, of course, a popular concept that spawned tons of fun (and often hilarious) gameplay ideas–and who’s going to throw a better feast than a Hutt? No contest. Hutts were a part of this from the get-go.
Without fate of the galaxy teetering in the balance before you.
Duuba and Gaboorga were think everyone’s going to enjoy getting to know them and ultimately determining the fate of the Feast.
The Feast of Prosperity includes things players don’t see in our other seasonal events: World Bosses and mini-games. What drove these design choices?
For this event, we wanted to present a variety of repeatable world boss every day. If there’s a type of mission you particularly like, maybe you want to do those most days, but even if there’s a type you prefer to play less of, the weekly missions can still be completed without being too time-consuming.
I already talked about how the mini-games let us explore some interesting gameplay, but another thing I personally enjoy is having a feels alive, I think. Just because the planet’s story arc is over or my main story doesn’t involve that planet anymore shouldn’t mean there’s never a reason to go back.
I also liked the idea of giving people a reason to take on some of the world bosses. Fighting a big, tough enemy with a team can be really fun, but it’s not always easy to get a group together for them, so hopefully this will give some folks who haven’t fought them before an opportunity to do that (and give those who have fought them a chance to share their knowledge and help newer players or their guildmates).
Another new functionality in this event is how the Story Missions unlock. Instead of making the whole story available at the beginning, a new Story Mission will unlock each week. Can you tell us more about this decision?
For a little context, let’s look at the last releasing a new mission each week, players will still get that feeling and have something new to look forward to each week of the Feast.
On the other hand, because the Feast happens relatively infrequently, we didn’t want to punish anyone who can’t play every week and do the missions as they come out, so once a mission is released, the previous missions leading up to it can be done one after another. That way, if you can only us during the last week of the Feast, you’ll still be able to see the whole story.
To wrap things up, what is your favorite part about the Feast of Prosperity event?
I’d say my favorite SWTOR team is full of incredible talent, and I’m fortunate to work with such excellent folks. And, of course, w
